Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31882945›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2019

Individual and seasonal variation in contact rate, connectivity and centrality in red fox (Vulpes vulpes) social groups.

Jo Dorning, Stephen Harris

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Winter is coming … How the hoarding behaviour of rodents fosters the persistence ofInternational journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2026
    Article
  2. A wrap-around movement path randomization method to distinguish social and spatial drivers of animal interactions.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2024
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Are British urban foxes (Ecology and evolution · 2021
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Spatial Aspects of Gardens Drive Ranging in Urban Foxes (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2020
    Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jo DorningSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK. jrdorning@hotmail.co.uk.
Stephen HarrisSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK.
University of Bristol · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Examining temporal variation in social connectivity and relating this to individual behaviour can help understand the role of individuals within social groups. Although red foxes are solitary foragers, they form social groups at higher population densities. To investigate the effects of season, sex and status on social connectivity in red fox social groups, we set camera traps for four consecutive seasons to record contact rates and social network metrics at food patches in seven fox territories. Higher food availability was associated with higher contact rates. Individual contact rates peaked in different seasons depending on sex and social status. Dominant foxes held central network positions in all seasons but there was no consistent pattern in social connections within territories, suggesting a greater influence of features such as group size and composition on network structure than seasonal behaviour. Increased extraterritorial movements by males during winter contributed to a significant reduction in local network connectivity. Female network strength did not vary with season, suggesting that females play an important role in maintaining year-round group cohesion. These data advance our understanding of canid social systems, the benefits of group-living in solitary foraging carnivores, and the impacts of management interventions for an ecologically important species.

Indexed as

Behavior, AnimalSeasonsAnimalsFemaleFoxesMale

Identifiers

PMID31882945
PMCPMC6934461
OpenAlexW2998557032

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.